Intern - Transnational Threats Project (Fall 2022)

At CSIS we actively seek to employ a diverse group of people who embody our organizational values. We welcome and encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply, especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a non-profit, bipartisan public policy organization established in 1962 to provide strategic insights and practical policy solutions to decision makers concerned with global security and prosperity. Over the years, it has grown to be one of the largest organizations of its kind, with a staff of some 200 employees, including more than 120 analysts working to address the changing dynamics of international security across the globe.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Transnational Threats Project (TNT) seeks highly motivated candidates for a full-time (35 hours per week), three-month (with the possibility of extension to six-month) internship beginning in September 2022. The research intern will be paid an hourly rate of $17.10–18.10, commensurate with experience, and will have the opportunity to participate in programs offered by the Abshire-Inamori Leadership Academy (AILA), the in-house leadership development program at CSIS.

TNT focuses on the threat and evolution of terrorist networks and the irregular activities of countries such as Russia, Iran, and China. Led by Dr. Seth G. Jones, director and Harold Brown Chair, TNT examines the activities of extremist organizations such as the Islamic State, al Qaeda, Lebanese Hezbollah, Shia militias, and far-right and far-left extremist networks—including domestic and international counterterrorism efforts. TNT also analyzes Russian, Iranian, and Chinese irregular warfare activities, such as covert action, economic warfare, support to non-state partners, use of private military companies, cyber operations, disinformation, political warfare, and espionage. TNT conducts extensive fieldwork overseas, compiles and analyzes data sets, and utilizes satellite imagery and other types of qualitative and quantitative analysis. TNT also draws from an extensive network of policy experts from the U.S. and partner governments, Congress, academia, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector.

The intern is responsible for supporting the Transnational Threats Project’s research and administrative efforts. Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following

• Conducting qualitative and quantitative research to analyze trends in local, regional, and global terrorist and non-state actor group activity, as well as irregular and asymmetric activity by U.S. adversaries such as Russia, China, and Iran;

• Using cutting-edge research methods to support written analysis, including but not limited to creating original maps, analyzing satellite imagery, and building original databases and datasets on terrorist and insurgent networks;

• Creating, maintaining, and utilizing geodatabases to draft maps that show conflict trends;

• Preparing detailed backgrounders on a broad range of transnational threats worldwide in preparation for Congressional testimonies, media interviews, and other external (public) events;

• Assisting the team in all aspects of event planning, promotion, and execution for public events and for internal (private) meetings and briefings with members of the U.S. government, private sector, foreign government partners, and others;

• Working outside of regular business hours on one occasion (November 17, 2022) to assist with the annual Arnaud de Borchgrave Memorial Dialogue;

• Other similar duties as needed.

The position requires the following skills and experiences

• Completed Bachelor’s degree;

• 0-2 years of relevant work experience (including internships);

• Prior academic or professional experience conducting policy research on counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, and/or political warfare in the Middle East; North, East, or West Africa; Europe; and Asia (i.e., South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, or Russia);

• Excellent written communication skills, including experience copyediting and reviewing long-form (10-50 pages) written products such as commentaries, op-eds, and reports;

• Must be detail-oriented and well-organized, with demonstrated success working in collaborative team environments and proven ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously under strict deadlines.

Highly competitive candidates typically have one or more of the following experiences

• In pursuit of a Master’s degree;

• 1-2 years of experience in a professional office environment;

• Quantitative data research, including creating, maintaining, and analyzing large Excel spreadsheets such as data from the University of Maryland’s START Global Terrorism Database (GTD), Janes Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), or the ADL Hate, Extremism, Antisemitism, Terrorism (H.E.A.T.) Map;

• Creating and manipulating geodatabases, including working with QGIS, CARTO, Mapbox, and other open-source mapping platforms;

• Overseas travel or academic/professional experience in Africa, Asia, Europe, or the Middle East;

• Language proficiency in one or more of the following languages Arabic, Farsi, French, Mandarin, Russian, or Ukrainian.

All candidates must be eligible to work in the United States. Foreign nationals must have employment authorization, as CSIS does not sponsor visas for interns.

The physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee working in an office environment. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Please note that application instructions must be followed, otherwise your application may be rejected. Interested applicants should submit the following as separate documents, cover letter, resume, writing sample (5-10 pages double spaced), and college transcripts (official or unofficial) to https://careers.csis.org/.